On Tuesday and Wednesday night, I caught a total of thirty-seven queen ants! On Tuesday, I caught eighteen, and on Wednesday, nineteen. I caught most of them in my driveway, but I also found a few on a Wednesday walk with mom. Late into that walk, it started to rain Myrmica sp. mating pairs. I caught three because I needed tubes for other queens that I would find later that evening. Sure enough, when I came outside, there were plenty of queen ants to catch. A good portion of the queens I found on both nights were caught while they were still flying, but a few were found on my trampoline, the driveway, and one cheeky Brachymyrmex landed on my shoulder!
I caught queens out of the sky by cupping both hands over them while they are flying, then put the queens in separate containers. After doing it once, I just kept repeating this process. The best ants to practice this trick are Brachymyrmex mating pairs because once they land on your hand, they just sit there. That gives you some time to get a container to temporarily house her in while you prepare a better home. Another great species to do this with are Lasius neoniger queens because they are larger and therefore it’s easier to track them, and they fly reasonably slowly. But they are nimble enough that I sometimes lose sight of them.
